Dino card No. 1178 of 2,027

Microdontosaurus

Say it: MY-kro-DON-toh-SORE-us

Name means: “tiny-toothed lizard”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursMiddle JurassicNot technically a dinosaur

Microdontosaurus was a small-toothed reptile that lived in the sea during the Middle Jurassic. It swam in warm oceans and hunted for food with its tiny teeth.3 1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

175 to 162 million years ago3

Middle Jurassic

Fossils found in

Fossils were found in the Dapuka Group of Xinjiang, China.1

Food

Meat3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Microdontosaurus lived about 174 to 161 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic period.3

Its name means 'tiny-toothed lizard', because its teeth were very small.1

Scientists think it was a marine reptile, not a dinosaur, even though its name sounds like one.3

The fossils were found in rocks that were once part of a shallow sea.3

Microdontosaurus is known from only a few bones, so scientists are still unsure about many details of its life.1

AI-made picture of Microdontosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Microdontosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Microdontosaurus

?Was Microdontosaurus a dinosaur?

No, Microdontosaurus was a marine reptile, not a dinosaur, even though its name sounds like one.1 3

?What does Microdontosaurus mean?

Microdontosaurus means 'tiny-toothed lizard' because its teeth were very small.1 2

?How big was Microdontosaurus?

Scientists are not sure, but it was a marine reptile, though the fossils are very incomplete.3

?When did Microdontosaurus live?

Microdontosaurus lived during the Middle Jurassic, about 174 to 161 million years ago.1 3

?Where was Microdontosaurus found?

Its fossils were discovered in the Dapuka Formation of Tibet, China.1 2

?Is Microdontosaurus a real dinosaur?

It is a real animal, but its name is not officially accepted by scientists because it was never properly described.1 3

?Could Microdontosaurus swim?

Yes, it was a marine reptile that lived in the ocean.3

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Microdontosaurus was a dinosaur because its name ends in 'saurus'.

Truth: It was actually a marine reptile that lived in the ocean, not a dinosaur.3

For dino experts

Scientific name: Microdontosaurus
Named by: Zhao 19833
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Sauropoda3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha3
Age of the rocks: 175 to 162 million years (Aalenian / Callovian)3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Microdontosaurus was named by Zhao in 1983, based on fossils from China. The type species is called M. dayensis.3
Still debated: Scientists debate whether Microdontosaurus is a valid genus, because the fossils are incomplete and may belong to another animal.1

Where the facts come from

List of informally named dinosaurs (en.wikipedia.org)
MICRODONTOSAURUS - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Microdontosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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